Voters united over homeownership

Voters ranked home ownership just below being successful at their jobs and slightly more important than the ability to pay for their own education or the education of a family member.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The message American voters recently sent to legislators in Washington D.C. is pretty clear: "Don't make home ownership any more difficult than it already is."

Voters who are homeowners free-and-clear, voters who are homeowners owing more than their home is worth, voters who rent and voters who still live with parents, by and large, all want to own their own home.

A recent National Association of Home Builders' survey, jointly conducted by Republican Party-leaning Public Opinion Strategies and the Democratic Party-leaning Lake Research Partners reveals the vast majority of respondents, 74 percent, said home ownership was "very important" or "one of the most important" goals in their lives.

They ranked home ownership just below being successful at their jobs and slightly more important than the ability to pay for their own education or the education of a family member.

A full 94 percent of respondents ranked owning a home as at least "somewhat important."

"Despite the current housing downturn, Americans still see home ownership as a core value and a key building block of being in the middle class and creating strong jobs in their communities," said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners in a prepared statement.

"The bipartisan consensus outside the Beltway is that owning a home remains an essential part of the American Dream," she added.

The survey found:

• More than one in three (36 percent) said a home is their most valuable investment followed by 33 percent who said a retirement savings program was their top investment.

• When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, 75 percent "strongly agreed" or "agreed" the purchase is worth the risk, compared to 23 percent who "strongly disagreed."

• When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, 76 percent of voters who have a mortgage strongly agreed or agreed. The same was true for 81 percent of those who own-outright; 67 percent of renters; 72 percent of those who don't pay a mortgage and 65 percent of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.

• There's also strong agreement to the statement over age groups. When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, the "strongly agree" or "agree" came from 73 to 79 percent of age groups 18-34; 35-54; 55-64 and 65 and up.

• Ninety-five percent of all homeowners are either "very happy" or "happy" with home ownership. Among homeowners "underwater" (owing more than their home is worth), 83 percent are "very happy" or "happy" with their choice to own.

• Also, in light of recent legislative and regulatory moves to mandate mortgage down payment levels, voters said the greatest barrier for those who want to own a home is the down payment (31 percent); job uncertainty (21 percent); credit score (16 percent); inability to get a loan (11 percent); current personal debt (9 percent); concerns that if home prices drop, the home investment would be worth less than the purchase price (8 percent).

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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EHLP helps employment-challenged homeowners

For many homeowners, loans from the new “The Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP)” will amount to a grant they won’t have to pay back. Unfortunately, there’s only so much EHLP to go around and you don't have much time to apply.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - More struggling homeowners are getting a small slice of the federal bailout pie, served up as a special no-interest loan of up to $50,000.

For many homeowners, loans from the new “The Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP)” will amount to a grant they won’t have to pay back.

Unfortunately, there’s only so much EHLP to go around.

Demand is expected to be so high, even if you are a qualified homeowner you will have to win a lottery to get one of the loans.

The $1 billion federal program is expected to help an estimated 30,000 distressed homeowners facing foreclosure because of unemployment or reduced employment, provided you can also demonstrate the loan will help you resume mortgage payments down the road.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced EHLP as the latest infusion from the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”

Get the full scoop here: "EHLP Helps Distressed Homeowners"

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Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

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Tougher requirements, economy shrink FHA loan share

Hitting the Brakes on Auto Dealer Loans

Tougher qualifying standards, tight credit, weak job growth, concerns over job security, and the inability of homeowners to sell their homes for enough to pay off their mortgage and buy another house are all contributing factors.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - As predicted, tougher underwriting rules are cutting into the share of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, loans that largely took the place of toxic subprime loans after the housing meltdown.

The share of borrowers using government-insured FHA home loans fell to its lowest level in 27 months in February, based on an analysis of 20 large housing markets nationwide by San Diego, CA-based DataQuick Information Systems.

DataQuick surmises recent changes to qualifying standards for FHA mortgages and lenders' own tighter requirements are both contributing to the decline in the number of buyers using the loans.

Weak job growth, concerns over job security, and the inability of homeowners to sell their homes for enough to pay off their mortgage and buy another house are also factors.

In February, 33.3 percent of the purchase mortgages used in metro areas were FHA-insured, down from 34.2 percent in January and 38.2 percent in February 2010, DataQuick reported.

Last month's figure was the lowest since FHA loans made up 33 percent of the purchase loan market in November 2008.

FHA loans, a small fraction of all mortgages before the housing boom went bust, peaked at an average 41.1 percent of all home purchase loans in November 2009. During the bust, some high cost regions saw FHA loans soar to 50 percent or more of all purchase loans.

Dataquick reported FHA use in February varied from as little as 10.3 percent of all purchase loans in the Honolulu area to as much as 43.2 percent in the Orlando region.

FHA loans have been very popular with first-time buyers and some move-up buyers in recent years after easy-money subprime lending melted down with the credit crunch of the bust. The meltdown made non-government-insured home loans, especially low-down-payment mortgages, more difficult to obtain and FHA loans became the alternative.

The median price paid for a home bought with an FHA loan in February was $195,000, the same as in January but down 2.5 percent from $200,000 a year earlier.

The median FHA purchase loan amount in February was $187,668, up slightly from $186,500 in January but down 4.4 percent from $196,278 a year ago.

FHA loan limits vary by region. but can be as high as $729,750 in the nation's costliest housing markets.

As the FHA loan share has fallen government-insured VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) loans are up.

Dataquick says VA loans represented 6.4 percent of all home purchase loans made in February, virtually unchanged from 6.5 percent in January, but up from 5.5 percent a year earlier. In recent years, the peak for VA loans, which do not require a down payment if certain conditions are met, was 6.7 percent in December 2010.

Among the metro areas DataQuick surveyed, the percentage of VA purchase loans was highest in Honolulu (18.9 percent), San Diego, CA (15.3 percent), Washington D.C. (13.8 percent), Seattle, WA (10.6 percent) and Las Vegas, NV (10.4 percent).

The VA share of purchase loans was lowest in the San Jose, CA metro area (0.9 percent), New York, NY (1.1 percent) and Los Angeles/Orange counties, CA (2.4 percent).

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Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Why consumers still won't buy homes

Chicken wing shortage hits nation

Reasons why consumers aren't buying homes haven't changed much since the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) braved a look at the issue a year ago.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Why consumers still balk at buying homes

Greater price affordability, historically low interest rates and unprecedented federal assistance should mean boom-time-level home buying.

But the convergence of potentially positive market factors in today's housing market continue to collide with conditions that undermine the confidence of consumers who might otherwise consider buying a home.

From November to December, resale home sales plummeted nearly 17 percent, the largest month-to-month decline since 1968 -- 42 years ago.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of new home sales plummeted 11.2 percent to 309,000 in January, compared with 348,000 in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It was the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1963 -- almost 50 years ago -- and comes after declines in November and December.

Blame the stagnant economy in general, but specific reasons why consumers aren't buying homes haven't changed much since the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) braved a look at the issue a year ago, according to RealEstate.com, an online operation that runs local brokerage firms in more than 30 cities nationwide.

"There's no doubt that the tax incentive is a help to first time home buyers, sometimes even more so than low interest rates," said Greg Hanson, senior vice president and general manager at RealEstate.com.

"But the fact is, it's not a magic bullet. Buyers are still running into a number of roadblocks when it comes to getting a mortgage and buying their first home," Hanson added.

Roadblocks include:

Credit issues. Credit scores continue to be one of the greatest challenges for first-time homebuyers in this economy. Low scores, debt-to-credit ratios, and credit report mistakes can stop a deal cold.

"Buyers still need to be more aware than ever of how to improve and correct their credit scores if they want to have a shot at taking advantage of the tax incentive before the deadline," said Hanson.

Lenders also haven't eased stiff underwriting requirements and in some cases, have made home loans even harder to come by.

Competition from investors. A recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) report revealed more than 25 percent of sales were paid for in cash, an indication that investors are stepping in to buy homes right out from under the noses of potential first-time home buyers, according to RealEstate.com.

"Buyers with less than 20 percent down are having a hard time competing with those investor buyers. We are even seeing investors coming back into the market to flip properties that they acquire from the foreclosure sellers. In some cases the properties are back on the market in a month's time," said Kim DiBenedetto a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Del Monte Realty in the popular resort town of Carmel, CA.

Job market woes. The unemployment rate remained near 10 percent in January and that means tighter household budgets and fewer home sales. It may also be the harbinger of a second wave of foreclosures, once again creating more opportunities for investors and fewer for actual buyers, according to RealEstate.com.

Rick Sharga, Vice President of ReatyTrac says over-priced homes and poor lending practices generated the first wave of foreclosures which helped trigger a recession. The recession left the nation with a 10 percent unemployment rate, which generated the second wave of foreclosures.

Stuck sellers. With fewer buyers and a glut of homes on the market, sellers who want to take advantage of the expanded home buyer tax credit for move up buyers, can't sell their home. Other sellers have mortgages that are "under water". They can't cash in on the tax credit because selling their home would leave them with a balance to pay off not to mention moving costs and a real estate commission that, in many cases, would wipe out the tax credit. Nearly one-in-three home owners are underwater, according to Moody's Economy.com.

The weather. Global warming spawned climate change is impacting the housing market. Instead of preparing their home for buyer visits, sellers are shoveling record levels of snow. Buyers, facing blizzards and black outs, can't get to open houses. RealEstate.com says the extreme weather in some parts of the country during the last two months is putting a damper on the desire and ability to buy and sell homes.

"Home sales in winter are always known to be tough, but the recent severe storms may have brought them down to a whole new low," says Hanson.

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Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Existing home sales plunge largest in 40 years

We've gone offbeat!
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From November to December, resale home sales sank nearly 17 percent in December, the largest month-to-month decline since 1968. Economists expected only a 10 to 11.6 percent decrease.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Resale home sales tanked by nearly 17 percent in December, the largest month-to-month decline since 1968.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected only an 11.6 percent decrease. Thomson Reuters' survey of economists forecasted a 10 percent decline.

(More home sales news)

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) were not surprised by the 16.8 percent decline, with buyers no longer rushing to cash in on the home buyer tax credit.

The first-time home buyer tax credit, credited with a previous three-month increase in resale homes, was due to expire Nov. 30, but Congress extended the credit until April 30 this year.

"It's significant that home sales remain above year-ago levels, but the market is going through a period of swings driven by the tax credit," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said

"We'll likely have another surge in the spring as home buyers take advantage of the extended and expanded tax credit. By early summer the overall market should benefit from more balanced inventory, and sales are on track to rise again in 2010," Yun added.

That's provided employment picks up.

"The job market remains a concern and could dampen the housing recovery – job creation is key to a continued recovery in the second half of the year," Yun also said.

NAR also said December 2009's resale sales remained 15.0 percent above sales in December 2008.

Home prices were up too. The median sales price of $178,300 in December was 1.5 percent more than it was a year ago, but the first yearly gain since August 2007.

Distressed homes continued to depress prices. They accounted for 32 percent of sales in December. For all of 2009, the median price was $173,500, down 12.4 percent from $198,100 in 2008. Distressed homes accounted for 36 percent of total sales last year.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Obama signs expanded home buyer tax credit law

Most condoms get job done...safely

The extension and expansion of the popular home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - President Barack Obama, this morning, signed legislation that extends a first time home buyer tax credit and extends a smaller tax credit to move-up and other buyers.

The extension and expansion of the popular home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

The new law extends the existing credit for first-time homebuyers, worth up to $8,000, through April 30, 2010.

A new credit of up to $6,500 is available to qualifying existing homeowners who buy a new primary residence (or have one built) by April 30, 2010, if they owned their existing home for five consecutive years over the last eight years. Second homes don't qualify.

Home buyers have to repay the credit if they live in their primary residence less than 36 months and are not members of the military.

The new rule also raises the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers, from the current $75,000 and $150,000.

The maximum allowed home purchase price is $800,000.

Both first-time home buyers and others must close escrow by June 30, 2010.

Military personnel, deployed overseas for a minimum of 90 days in 2008 or 2009, would have until April 30, 2011 to claim the tax credit.

Buyers can claim the credit on their 2009 taxes, even if the purchase is made in 2010 by filing an amended return. Buyers who don't owe taxes can have the credit refunded to them.

More information is available from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS}, including a question and answer page.

That's all good news for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors says as many as 400,000 resale transactions (1.2 million for both new and resale homes) were completed specifically because of the first-time home buyer tax credit, since it began, and that put a dent in the housing inventory.

Home sales also add property and sales tax revenues to the coffers of local governments as reduced inventory helps boost prices and home values.

Fortunately, the tax credit also has been available at a time when often have been below 5 percent.

Fortunately, the first-time home buyer tax credit's availability has coincided with mortgage rates often hanging below 5 percent, according to Jeff Howard, CEO of Erate.com.

As the Nov. 30 tax credit deadline neared, reports from the Commerce Department, revealed new home sales slipped 3.6 percent in September and were down 7.8 percent from September 2008.

Tax credit history

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Congress first created a $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit for those who purchased a home between April 8, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

Later, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress extended the credit and raised it to an $8,000 tax credit for those who purchased homes by the current Nov. 30, 2009 expiration date.

By October 9, 2009, more than 1.2 million tax returns had claimed about $8.5 billion in the refundable tax credit, for both new and resale homes - according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

A TIGTA audit also revealed last month that nearly 90,000 taxpayers -- including nearly 600 children -- may have fraudulently enjoyed the credit, hoodwinking the government out of more than $600 million.

The new legislation includes provisions to stifle fraud after the Internal Revenue Service identified 167 suspected criminal schemes and opened nearly 107,000 examinations of potential civil violations of the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Cheating the IRS is a federal felony that comes with a fine of up to $250,000 and three years in a federal pen, or both.

To combat fraud, a HUD-1 Settlement Statement will have to be attached to the tax return to secure the credit.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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First-time home buyer tax credit extension approved

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Quick! Click my head!

The extension and expansion of the popular first-time home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The first-time home buyer tax credit extension and expansion has won Congressional approval and is on its way to President Barack Obama.

He's expected to sign the measure as early as tomorrow.

The U.S. House of Representatives, this morning, voted 403 to 12 to pass the measure, following a unanimous U.S. Senate approval yesterday.

The measure was passed as part of unemployment benefits extension legislation H.R. 3548.

The extension and expansion of the popular first-time home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

The new tax credit extends the existing credit for first-time homebuyers, worth up to $8,000, and offers a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners.

The reduced credit for existing homeowners is available to those who have been in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period.

The new rule also raises the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers, from the current $75,000 and $150,000.

The maximum allowed home purchase price is $800,000.

A home buyer must have a sale agreement in hand by April 30 and close escrow by June 30, 2010.

Military personnel, deployed overseas for a minimum of 90 days in 2008 or 2009, would have until April 30, 2011 to claim the tax credit.

That's all good news for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors says as many as 400,000 resale transactions (1.2 million for both new and resale homes) were completed specifically because of the first-time home buyer tax credit, since it began, and that put a dent in the housing inventory.

Home sales also add property and sales tax revenues to the coffers of local governments as reduced inventory helps boost prices and home values.

Fortunately, the tax credit also has been available at a time when often have been below 5 percent.

Fortunately, the first-time home buyer tax credit's availability has coincided with mortgage rates often hanging below 5 percent, according to Jeff Howard, CEO of Erate.com.

As the Nov. 30 tax credit deadline neared, reports from the Commerce Department, revealed new home sales slipped 3.6 percent in September and were down 7.8 percent from September 2008.

Tax credit history

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Congress first created a $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit for those who purchased a home between April 8, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

Later, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress extended the credit and raised it to an$8,000 tax credit for those who purchased homes by the current Nov. 30, 2009 expiration date.

By October 9, 2009, more than 1.2 million tax returns had claimed about $8.5 billion in the refundable tax credit, for both new and resale homes - according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

A TIGTA audit also revealed last month that nearly 90,000 taxpayers -- including nearly 600 children -- may have fraudulently enjoyed the credit, hoodwinking the government out of more than $600 million.

The new legislation includes provisions to stifle fraud after the Internal Revenue Service identified 167 suspected criminal schemes and opened nearly 107,000 examinations of potential civil violations of the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Cheating the IRS is a federal felony that comes with a fine of up to $250,000 and three years in a federal pen, or both.

To combat fraud, a HUD-1 Settlement Statement will have to be attached to the tax return to secure the credit.



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No job? No mortgage

Fly half price, standing up

The days of NINJA (No income, no job or assets.) loans have been nunchakued.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Q: Can you get approved for a mortgage after you've been laid off? I was hoping you would be able to shed some light on the subject. A little advice would go a long way right now.

A: No. The days of NINJA (No income, no job or assets.) loans have been nunchakued.

A: "You cannot. You have to show income on all loans regardless of the size or down payment. They used to take unemployment income, but no more. Furthermore they will perform a verbal employment check at doc or funding time," said a loan source of Julia Truesdale Keady, president Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

A: "No, you not only need a stable source of income these days, but also need to prove you have a certain amount of reserves based on the amount of the loan. Independent contractors are pretty much out of luck from what I know because we all deduct the maximum amount of deductions we can thus our income comes in low. Of course credit scores are also important, but the reserves are also key," Kim DiBenedetto, president Monterey County, CA Association of Realtors.

A: "Not anymore. If the property is owner-occupied, you will have to verify your
income/ability to repay, even with private money loans (hard money)," said Quincy A. Virgilio, Jr, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Dishwashers, microwaves, televisions the new luxury items

New party animal, H1N1 flu

Since when did dishwashers, microwave ovens and televisions become luxuries? Since the Great Recession took away their "standard equipment" status.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Since when did dishwashers, microwave ovens, televisions become luxuries?

Since the Great Recession took away their "standard equipment" status.

Many items you expect to find in a 21st Century home are more and more often considered wants rather than needs and consumers are doing without them.

Recession-wary consumers say they are so financially strapped they are rationing their intake of consumer goods and services deemed just not necessary during hard times.

Pew Research's Social & Demographic Trends effects-of-the-recession survey of more than 1,000 adults from April 2 to April 8 this year discovered:

• In 2006 36 percent of consumers said they had to have a dishwasher, today only 26 percent say they can't handle dishpan hands.

• In 2006, 68 percent of consumers said a microwave was necessary. Today, only 47 percent say they still need to nuke popcorn.

• Now, only 56 percent say television is necessary, down from 68 percent in 2006. The 56 percent is the smallest share of couch potato-ness in more than 35 years, according to Pew.

• Forced to go green and air dry clothes, only 66 percent of consumers say they need a close dryer, down from 83 percent in 2006.

• Fifty-four percent said they just had to have home air conditioning during the recent survey, compared to 70 percent in 2006.

Not surprising, according to a Harris Poll, more than two in five Americans are concerned that the household's main income earner may be unemployed before the year's out.

In yet another survey, IPSOS found consumers shunning new products, but gobbling up lower priced, store and generic brand items to save a few bucks.

IPSOS said 80 percent of the consumers surveyed were likely to switch to lower-priced brands or brands on sale, while 72 percent said they were stocking the pantry with store or generic brands.

Pew likewise found that because of the recession consumers:

• Bought less expensive or discount store brands (57 percent)
• Reduced or cancelled cable or satellite TV (24 percent)
• Started doing yard work or home repairs they once hired out (20 percent)



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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. Perkins is also a National Real Estate Examiner. All the news that really hits home from three locations -- that's location, location, location!

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